Palm Beach Equine Medical Purchases Embryo Transfer Facility

Palm Beach Equine Medical Centers, headquartered in Wellington, Fla., recently purchased the New Bridge Embryo Centre in Aiken, S.C. The facility is now called the Palm Beach Equine Embryo Center (PBEEC). The goal is to continue to provide top-notch equine embryo transfers to the polo market, while expanding the services to the sport horse and performance horse markets.

Palm Beach Equine Medical Centers have been leaders in the veterinary care of Olympic and World Championship horses, along with world-class polo ponies, racehorses, and other equine athletes. They are the official veterinarian of the Winter Equestrian Festival, the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI, and other international equestrian events.

"Although we have become well-known for our care of competition horses, we recognize the need for a world-class reproductive center," explained Scott Swerdlin, DVM, MRCVS, president of Palm Beach Equine Medical Centers. "The Palm Beach Equine Embryo Center will serve mare owners nationwide."

The PBEEC offers state-of-the-art reproductive facilities, safe stabling, lush pastures, and a collection of polo stallions. In the works are a catalogue of top sport horse stallions and additional reproductive and veterinary services.

"Polo breeders have recognized the importance of using their most competitive mares for producing future generations of athletes," Swerdlin said. "At some of the top international polo tournaments it is not uncommon to see three generations of mares competing alongside one another. We want to make this more commonplace in the sport horse and performance horse industries. Some of the industry's best mares don't finish competing until they are nearly 20 years old, which means they have exceptional athletic ability and soundness--exactly the type of mares that should be reproducing. Embryo transfer is the perfect solution for the competitive mare and her owner."

Mare owners can either ship their mare to the Aiken facility or have their mare inseminated while she is competing, regardless of whether she is in Florida, California, Texas, or New York. The Palm Beach Equine Embryo Center veterinarians will work with mare owners' vets to ensure that the process is seamless. Once the embryo is seven to eight days old, it is flushed and placed within one of the PBEEC's recipient mares.

Once the recipient mare is confirmed pregnant at 35 days via ultrasound, the owner can have the mare shipped anywhere nationwide, or leave her on the hundreds of acres of pasture in Aiken.

In addition to embryo transfer, other reproductive and veterinary services are offered in Aiken. PBEEC clients have access to the Palm Beach Equine Medical Centers' staff that includes more than 20 veterinarians. They have pioneered many techniques and procedures for lameness, reproduction, kinesiology, internal medicine, alternative medicine, and more.